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Carpet Sweeper - Who Invented It?

According to Awesome Almanac Michigan, Melville and Anna Bissell operated a small crockery shop in Grand Rapids Michigan in the 1870s. Melville developed an allergy to the straw the crockery was shipped in and he created a small, lightweight sweeper to pick up the straw from the floor. When his customers saw it in action they also wanted one, so in 1876 Anna and Melville formed the Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company.